Namta Gupta

Lal Krishna Advani is a leader in the middle of a thunderstorm. The 15th Lok Sabha elections would decide not only his fate, but also his party’s standing in the Indian polity. The man, who has always been seen as the Prime Minister in-waiting, now seems to be battling it out for his final chance to claim the summit. These elections in that sense will prove to be a do-or-die for him.

Looking back we find that the BJP front-rung leader is an astute politician whose career stretches over good 50 years. Beginning his political career as a worker of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, he is credited to have turned the BJP into a formidable force in Indian politics.

The saffron party, political offshoot of RSS, was formed in the year 1980 and had Atal Bihari Vajpayee as its first president. But his brand of Gandhian socialism was recognised as obsolete and gradually, Advani found himself on the centre-stage. His fiery demeanor suited the Hindutva agenda of the RSS, more than Vajpayee’s soft approach towards issues.

This was the time when Shah Bano’s case brought to the fore majority apprehension regarding the state of affairs in India. Ram Janam Bhoomi agitation too was slowly gathering momentum side by side. It was the result of this agitation that the BJP that had won only two seats in 1984 Lok Sabha bagged 88 seats in 1989 general elections. Its golden period came in 1996, when it emerged as the single largest party in the Lok Sabha.

With the Congress faring its worst ever in its political history, the BJP found itself savouring the limelight, thanks to the relentless efforts of Advani. But the crowning glory went in favour of Vajpayee. Why? All because of Advani’s hawkish image, that made him pariah for the party’s coalition partners.

As Home Minister in the Vajpayee government, Advani failed to do justice with his image of an ‘Iron Man’ in view of the terror strikes that India faced. The self-confessed Sardar Patel disciple had to confront the criticism from every quarter when Parliament was attacked in 2001. It was certainly a blot on the NDA regime but the attack on Akshardham Temple in 2002, and then the Kargil and Kandahar episodes undid his image of a tough administrator. Soon, he was left with just a shadow of his former fiery self.

But determined and shrewd that he was, he successfully marginalized growing dissent and was made Deputy Prime Minister on June 29, 2002. But this success was temporary, as the party lost its sheen in 2004 general elections.

Even this loss did not deter him and he tried impossible to garner the same acceptability that was once enjoyed by Vajpayee. The first step towards this goal was his Pakistan visit. Unfortunately, the trip backfired as he heaped praises on the secular credentials of Mohammed Ali Jinnah. This was suicidal and at one time it seemed that his political career was anything but over.

Advani tried his best to put up a brave fight and stood by what he said, at least momentarily, but sensing that his statements have failed to make his party stand by him, he backtracked.

What next?

Putting forth the image of an able administrator, he is wooing the voters hard. A whole new generation of young voters will vote this time and just by lifting dumbles they can’t be won over.

In the wake of terror attacks in Mumbai, he missed the right bus as he refused to travel with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to visit the city.

What he perhaps lacks is the acceptability and he himself is aware of it. First considered a harbinger of Hindutva he was found praising Jinnah. In trying to earn acceptability, he is doing what he once claimed was the signature style of pseudo secularists, i.e. appeasement. He appears to have lost the distinct identity and that probably is the worst that can happen to any politician.

The image is not the only issue that the saffron party’s torch bearer alone faces. He is fighting not just the Congress outside but also within his own party. The faction-ridden house that the BJP is right now has only made the road to 7, Race Course thornier.

Now, he needs to do mend bridges not just with party colleagues but also with the Third Front leaders. Since it is highly unlikely that any party would get a majority to form the government on its own, he would woo some of the Third Front constituents so that the BJP would call the shots.

Knowing well that this may be his last opportunity, Advani had taken the Congress head on. Whether he loses or wins the situation only time will tell, but the least that his party could do is to stand behind him. That’s the least the party could do for him, and that’s the way it should be.